Cape Town - 190120 - Patricia de Lille unveiled the interim national leadership committee of her new political party "Good" on Sunday morning. Picture: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA) Cape Town - 190120 - Patricia de Lille unveiled the interim national leadership committee of her new political party "Good" on Sunday morning. Picture: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA)
DURBAN - Former DA mayor Patricia de Lille says her new political movement, Good and its supporters are constantly under attack by her former DA colleagues.
A few weeks after stepping down as Cape Town Mayor and a member of the DA, De Lille announced that she would be launching a new party under the name Good.
She said her party has been under constant attack by some DA members, including ward councillor Angus McKenzie who had worked closely with De Lille when she was mayor.
“We just had this incident where the list of the leadership was distributed to make the point that the leadership is more coloured, that it is like a coloured cabal. That was posted on the facebook of a DA member, that Mackenzie guy. It was also distributed widely on WhatsApp to many of our members. The whole thing was generated by the DA,” said De Lille.
On Saturday, Good announced its interim national leadership committee comprising of 36 leaders.
Former mayoral committee member Brett Herron will serve as secretary general, while the council’s former whip Shaun August has been chosen as national organiser.
Both resigned from the DA in support of De Lille when she resigned as Cape Town mayor last October.
McKenzie denied the alleged attack on De Lille’s party by himself or other members of the DA. He admitted to sharing the list, but said he just “asked former colleagues” if the list was authentic.
De Lille however said ordinary members of her party have also found themselves “monitored” by some members of the DA while they were performing party work.
“There has been these attempts, I left the DA they didn’t want me but they are still continuing with these dehumanising campaigns to try and attack me.
“I suppose that is the name of the game, and I expected that to come from them. We are ready to deal with them, we have not however responded in a similar dirty fashion because we are concentrating on the turf meant for us,” said De Lille.
De Lille denied allegations that her party was a “coloured” party, and said diversity was an important part of their social policy.
“You have not seen a campaign in South Africa about race, it is because leaders don’t want to speak about it. They are uncomfortable. We are going to take the bull by its horns, and tell the racists that we are not going to allow racists to speak for us. In our party we are accepting that people of all races are good people,” said De Lille.
She said the DA told her supporters not to vote for her as she will “take the province away to govern with the ANC and the EFF”.
“Our people on the ground pick this up all the time coming from the DA, our response is that the DA is very hypocritical because they are governing together with the EFF in Tshwane and Johannesburg.
“They have run out of ideas, instead of saying to voters, vote for us because this is our delivery track record, they attack Good,” said De Lille.